Champions League: Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez lashes out at referees after VAR controversy

Hakan Calhanoglu scored the game's sole goal in first-half stoppage time at San Siro to deliver a potentially crucial result in Group C.

Bayern Munich, who defeated Barcelona 2-0 in their most recent match, leads the group with nine points, followed by Inter with six and Barcelona. Viktoria Plzen is currently scoreless.

Barcelona has now gone four consecutive Champions League games without scoring. Even though Xavi Hernandez's team controlled about 70% of the possession during Tuesday's match, Inter had the better scoring opportunities in the first half.

Moreover, Barcelona manager Xavi criticised VAR after two handball calls cost Barcelona dearly.

Hakan Calhanoglu scored the game's only goal in first-half stoppage time. Still, the match ended in controversy after Barcelona's equaliser was ruled out for handball. They were denied a late penalty when Denzel Dumfries looked to handle the ball within the penalty area.

Pedri was denied an equaliser in the middle of the second half after Ansu Fati was called for a handball. In contrast, the Spanish giants were denied a penalty in the final minutes for a similar infraction. VAR was the main talking point of the game.

What did Xavi Hernandez say about the goal?

"I'm p*ssed off about it. We don't understand anything. If there's a hand from Ansu and another scores it's a goal, and they disallow it. And the other can't be understood. It's an injustice, the referees should explain because we don't understand," Xavi lashed out at the referees in the presser after the San Siro match.

Xavi did acknowledge that Inter deserved credit for a game plan that was ultimately well implemented. Even despite his heightened frustration, Xavi was willing to concede that the Italians played a disciplined midfield and defended their penalty area excellently.

He said, "They defended very well. We could not play well from the middle."

Despite possessing two of the most dynamic wingers in European football's main league in Ousmane Dembele and Raphinha, the Catalans were ineffective when playing through the vast areas as an offensive unit.

The French World Cup champion and the Brazilian could not locate the Polish national or beat their opponent in a footrace.